Are you doing some painting around your house? If you’re like me, you never finish the project in just one day…and you HATE cleaning the brushes. (There’s times when I’d rather just toss the roller in the trash then clean it for a second use.)

So, for those times that you do need to save your rollers and/or brush for the next day, pull out your Ziploc baggies! Remove some of the excess paint from your roller. Take a gallon-sized baggie and with the paint roller still on the handle, place the roller in the bag. Grab the roller and pull on the handle, leaving the wet roller in the bag. You can also place your other brushes in this bag, or in separate bag. Be sure to seal your bags tightly, keeping out the air, and your brushes will be ready for the next day.

Don’t want your cubicle or desk to look like an “office space?”Do you want to personalize it and make it your own space?Look for creative ways to store office supplies like paperclips, binder clips, pushpins, pencils, pens, and rubber bands.Small vases, candle holders, flower/plant pots, and even candy dishes.These containers add a little pizazz

Use different types of containers to store office supplies.

to the typical “office by providing a variety of colors, materials and textures.

The stores today carry a variety of baskets and organizers to help you with the larger items like papers, folders, and documents.Even then, think outside the box when looking for storage solutions.

If you are a person who likes to keep theses items out but don’t want to see them, opt for decorative boxes.They come in all shapes and sizes and if you’re feeling a little creative, stop by your local craft or scrapbook store to purchase unfinished boxes, coverings and embellishments.

Another great place to look for items is at your local thrift store.Here you can find a number of those small mismatched items that would work perfectly for this type of project.And don’t forget about your home office as well.It’s another great place to add a few unique touches.

Did your holiday decorations collect a little dust while on display?No problem.Use either an air compressor or a can of compressed air (great for those small, delicate pieces).For some of your larger items, like your tree or wreaths, you may need to use a vacuum cleaner.Whichever method you use, hold the item far enough away to prevent and damage and keep an eye on small and delicate pieces attached to your decorations.If you do then cleaning now, everything will be ready to go for next Christmas and decorating will be that much more enjoyable.

Who enjoys untangling their Christmas lights each year?NOT ME!Now that all the presents are unwrapped, you probably find yourself with a few extra cardboard boxes lying around your house.(And if you’re lucky, you got a gift from Crate&Barrel so you have a good quality

Holiday lights wrapped around a piece of cardboard.

cardboard box.) The amount of lights you have will determine how many “pieces” of your box you will need…you may want or need to use the top flaps, sides and bottom flaps.After you have carefully cut apart your box, make a small slit in either the top or bottom of one cardboard piece.As you begin to take down your lights, first tuck the end of the cord into the slit you made and wrap the string of lights around the cardboard.Continue to wrap the lights until you have filled the piece of cardboard.You can either make a second slit for the other end of your lights, or simply tuck the cord underneath the wrapped lights.Depending on how much of your box is left, you can even drop your wrapped cords into the box for easy storage.

This same strategy can be used for any of your holiday or seasonal lights.

If you’re like me, you get your holiday decorations arranged just the way you want them, a year passes, and then you have no memory of where that wreath went or what shelf you used for your favorite candle.Problem solved!Prior to taking down your decorations this year, take photos of them all.You have a couple of different options with your photos:print them and store with each specific decoration or create a folder on your computer to house the images.Either way, next year’s decorating will go that much quicker!